All The Latest​From The Farm

Last Friday we began “recycling” our oldest egg layers. These birds were over 2 years old and had served us (and many of you) well, but it was definitely time for them to begin moving on.

Now I know some of you may be asking, just exactly how do you recycle a chicken? Well, we send them off to our friendly processor and they come back to the farm as “crock pot” chickens!

Back in the good old days, Grandma would call them stewing chickens. That’s because Grandma knew the older a chicken was, the tougher it could be if not cooked properly. So she simply put the bird in a stew pot all day long, knowing it would be nice and tender by dinner time.

Today, crock pots have replaced stew pots in most of our homes, but the concept is still the same. Low and slow makes for a tender, tasty “crock pot” chicken. While there are tons of crock pot chicken recipes out there, I thought I would share this one with you. It’s very simple and gives you great flexibility in how you use the pulled chicken once it’s cooked. Quesadillas? Check. Enchiladas? Check. Chicken salad? Check. Any other chicken dish you can think of? Check!

As most of you already know, our egg layers are raised on pasture and fed non-GMO feed just like our meat birds. This means you get all the positive health benefits of an all-natural, pasture raised chicken without all the negatives associated with confinement raised birds. All in all…a win/win!

Beginning today, we will have crock pot chickens available for sale ($3.49/lb). To get yours, you can stop by the farm most anytime, or visit us tomorrow (Aug 31) at the White House Farmers Market or Saturday at the Hendersonville Farmers Market.Thanks and we look forward to seeing around the farm soon!

This season marks our 3rd year as a vendor at the Hendersonville Farmers Market. Since it was our first market, we are definitely invested in it being the best market it can possibly be.

What you may, or may not know, is that we are now 1 of only 2 “producer only” farmers at the market. This means the two of us are the only vendors selling exclusively what we grow. As a result, we can tell customers exactly how something was grown, when/how it was harvested and what, if anything, has been sprayed (only organic certified in our case) on the different crops.

Unfortunately some of the other vendors try to be all things to all people. They call themselves farms, but do not grow a great majority of what they sell. Instead they go to auction houses, or regional distribution centers, to buy the produce they turn around and resell. In effect they are buying from commercial farms (probably not local) with no idea how the produce was grown. As long as they are upfront and honest about where their produce comes from, we have no complaints. We learned the first year that people wanting the least expensive “grocery store” produce, with no concern for where or how it was grown, are not our customers. Where we have an issue is when someone is less than honest about where their produce comes from. We feel this hurts the credibility of the market and places those of us who are selling only what we grow at a significant disadvantage.

When visiting a farmers market, whether it’s the HFM or another market, don’t be afraid to ask questions of the farmer before buying. How was it grown? Can we come and visit the farm? When did you harvest this? These are all valid questions and ones we enjoy answering, as we love talking about what we do and how we do it. In addition, be aware of what produce is in season here in Middle TN. If you don’t see it at a producer only vendor’s booth, chances are pretty good it was trucked in and not from around here.​We believe strongly in our slogan, “know your farmer, know your food” and think you do as well. Just know we appreciate you guys and love working hard to provide you and your families with healthy, all-natural produce!